1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a broadcast receiver comprising a tuner for tuning the receiver to a desired station in response to an applied tuning frequency, control means for reading said tuning frequency from a user-selected one of a plurality of memory locations in which such tuning frequencies are stored, means for receiving and decoding a list of nominal tuning frequencies identifying receivable broadcast stations and for storing said nominal tuning frequencies in respective locations of said memory. The invention also relates particularly but not exclusively to a television receiver.
The invention further relates to a method of tuning a broadcast receiver comprising the steps of reading a tuning frequency from a user-selected one of a plurality of memory locations in which such tuning frequencies are stored, and applying said tuning frequency to a tuner; and receiving a list of nominal tuning frequencies identifying receivable broadcast stations and storing said nominal tuning frequencies in respective locations of said memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
Television receivers have a frequency synthesis tuning arrangement for tuning the television receiver to a desired television station. In such an arrangement, a digital representation of the station transmission frequency is normally applied to the television tuner. This digital representation of a transmission frequency is herein further referred to as the tuning frequency. The tuning frequency is applied to the tuner by a control circuit, usually a microprocessor, in response to a channel selection made by the user.
To avoid the necessity for the user to enter difficult-to-remember transmission frequencies or channel numbers, television receivers normally allow the user to select channels by entering program numbers. In such receivers, the tuning frequencies to be applied to the tuner are stored in a tuning memory which is addressed by the program numbers assigned to the television stations.
A problem of such a television receiver is assigning the program numbers to the television stations which can be received in a given terrestrial or cable network. The initial programming of the tuning memory installation is usually referred to as channel installation.
A solution to this problem is disclosed in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,714. In accordance with this prior-art method, a list of nominal tuning frequencies or channel numbers of the receivable broadcast stations is transmitted by the (cable) network provider. Such a list is hereinafter referred to as channel list. In practical embodiments, the channel list is transmitted along with at least one of the broadcast television programs, e.g., as a cyclically transmitted teletext page. Upon installing the television receiver, the channel list is captured, decoded and stored in the tuning memory of the receiver without requiring any further user intervention. Thereafter, the various stations are accessible through the program numbers defined by the network provider in accordance with local habits.